Dinner tonight... was made two weeks ago

Tonight was one of those rare, sad nights where the family doesn't get to eat together. Kouryou-chan had dance; Omaha had politics. I got home late from work, and Storm was off with her older sister for the evening. Even Lisakit was out.

Since I was home alone, I made myself dinner: Sautee'd sausage, onions, and red bell pepper in a bowl. Now, that would be soul food enough for my Germanic tendencies (Northern Italians being, basically, Germans in outlook and diet), but I had gone one better.

Two weeks ago, there had been a head of cabbage in my garden going uneaten. We'd had all the coleslaw we can stand. I pulled the head, opened it, and cleaned it out. It was remarkably bug-free. I then proceeded to tear it, with clean hands, into small pieces and layer it in a sterilized mason jar, scattering a quarter-teaspoon of salt on top of each layer every half-inch or so. I would cram it down, gently, with my fingertips, then add more until the mason jar was full. I poured filtered water on top, covered but did not seal the jar, and left it out on top of my refrigerator.

Today, I opened it up and had a taste. If you've never had real sauerkraut, you're missing out, because this stuff was awe inspiring. Just the right bite, not disgustingly salty, still crisp and wonderful. I forked some out into the cast iron skillet to heat through, and put the rest in the refrigerator to halt fermentation.

But really, home-made sauerkraut, made with cabbage from my garden was... awesome.